Story+1975-11-10+Tampa,+FL

“We’re gonna be playing a long time…so you just sit back (?)…[long instrumental portion]…BAM!...bam…bam…bam…it was about, it was about four, four am, years ago, that me and Steve, Miami Steve (crowd cheers) and our bass player Garry Tallent…we had this band, we were playing in this band in this (someone: “Steel Mill”) no, it wasn’t that band, it was after that, it was like…we were playing in this band at this place called the Student Prince in Asbury Park (crowd cheers) how many folks, how many folks from New Jersey? (crowd cheers) yes, do your thing (crowd cheers) we were playing in this place called Student Prince and we played there for about, for about four or five months and uh…and…we couldn’t like, we couldn’t, at the time we were trying to get like, trying to get some kind of a record deal or something going for ourselves but we didn’t know anybody and…so it was night, it was a night like all nights, it was late, late Saturday night and me and Steve was walking home, north down the Boardwalk, right, minding our own business (crowd cheers) when all of a sudden…all of a sudden… there was this great mist down the end of the street (?)…it was like…the mist sort of parted and from out of this mist came this cat that we’d never seen before and he was dressed like, he was dressed all in white from head to foot, right, and it looked like, it looked like to us, it looked like to us that he was carrying a saxophone (crowd cheers) so then there was nothing but this long silence for a long time and all we heard was this, this stuff coming through the air (Clarence plays a sax solo) so it was like it got real quiet for long (crowd cheers Clarence) and Steve, Steven decided that I should be, being that I was the leader of the band, that I should be the guy to go up and, and introduce myself to this fellow and find out what his name was, now it was three or four in the morning, there’s nobody else on the street, it’s raining, the wind is blowing, so I take a few steps towards him and I say, I say… ”Steven” (laughs from the crowd) I said this…to thin air…because my faithful guitarist, the one who had stuck by his boss for so long…was gone from the scene of the crime (chuckles)(crowd cheers) but he did salute me as he ran away, he did salute me as he was running down the street (?) so like I slowly walk up to this guy, right, figure out I’d try to be as confident as I can be (?) (crowd cheers) and he didn’t say nothing, he just stuck out his hand…and it was like…and when we touched, it was like…Sparks fly on E Street…”
 * 10.11.75 Tampa, FL, intro to “The E Street Shuffle”**

“(Someone yells a request) We’re gonna get that for you…”
 * 10.11.75 Tampa, FL, intro to “She’s the One”**

“This is a song for, for any of you folks from Jersey (crowd cheers)…”
 * 10.11.75 Tampa, FL, intro to “Sandy”**

“Is the band ready?...Kitty’s back (crowd cheers)…”
 * 10.11.75 Tampa, FL, intro to “Kitty’s Back”**

“Wherever you are…Rosie, come out tonight (crowd cheers)…"
 * 10.11.75 Tampa, FL, intro to “Rosalita”**

“This is our, our first gig ever in Florida (crowd cheers) I wanna thank you all very much for coming and giving us such a fine (crowd cheers) is the band ready? (?)…alright, alright…”
 * 10.11.75 Tampa, FL, intro to “Detroit Medley”**

“Alright…are you loose? (crowd cheers)…”
 * 10.11.75 Tampa, FL, intro to “Quarter to Three”**

//Compiled by Johanna Pirttijärvi//